Through the past decades, new medical devices have been introduced at an increasing pace at the urge primarily of manufacturers, clinicians, and patients. Whereas it is mandatory to assess and approve new pharmaceuticals before their widespread use is allowed, innovations in medical devices generally have not been subject to the smae restrictions. The European Communitys program on completion of t

Today, shortened lead-times in the automotive industry have raised requirements on rapid information exchange. The increased use and access to the Internet have created possibilities to transfer information to people independent of location. This development, together with the increased speed in the portable computer technology, has opened possibilities for bringing results from sheet-metal-formin

The mean effective gain (MEG) is one of the most important parameters for the characterisation of antennas in wireless channels. An analysis of some fundamental properties of the MEG is provided and corresponding physical interpretations are given. Three points are analysed in detail: (i) closed-form expressions for MEG in a mixed environment with both stochastic and deterministic components are p

The aim of this article is to explore how retail store image is perceived by consumers from different cultural backgrounds and with different degrees of awareness and experience of the retailer. The subject is IKEA, a retailer recognized as having a global approach to the markets in which it operates, resulting in a highly standardized approach to store branding. However, rather than employing tra

Impact assessment (IA) is an instrument that is gradually making inroads into European Union policy making. Great ambitions are tied to the introduction of a compulsory system of IA as a way to achieve better regulation but also as a tool to improve legitimacy of government and increase unity in European politics. In order to raise the quality of the assessments, which has been questioned, there i

A festival report from Lund International Fantastic Film Festival 2005

Three well-known dynamic acidification models (MAGIC, SAFE, SMART) were applied to data sets from five Integrated Monitoring sites in Europe. The calibrated models were used in a policy-oriented framework to predict the long-term soil acidification of these background forest sites, given different scenarios of future deposition of S and N. Emphasis was put on deriving realistic site-specific scena

Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of a novel technique that modifies the configuration of a thoracic stent-graft after deployment to comply with the arch curvature. Technique: The principle of a Bowden cable has been applied to direct a conventional thoracic stent-graft in situ after deployment. A suture placed at the proximal inner curve of a conventional thoracic stent-graft is fitted with

Given the great range of visual systems, tasks and habitats, there is surprisingly little experimental evidence of how visual limitations affect behavioural strategies under natural conditions. Analysing this relationship will require an experimental system that allows for the synchronous measurement of visual cues and visually guided behaviour. The first step in quantifying visual cues from an an

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) safety was evaluated at 1.5 T in a covered nickel titanium stent-graft (Vanguard) used for endovascular treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Imaging artifacts were assessed on MRI with contrast-enhanced (CE) three-dimensional (3D) MR angiography (MRA) and spiral computed tomography (CT) in 10 patients as well as ex vivo. Velocity mapping was performed in

A numerical model has been developed to simulate the transport of several ionic species across a saturated concrete or mortar sample. The chloride binding as well as the electrical coupling between the different ionic fluxes are included in the model by using the Nernst-Planck system of equations. This model highlights which parameters affect substantially chloride penetration into reinforced conc

Background & Aims: Despite treatment with corticosteroids, severe to moderately severe attacks of ulcerative colitis have a high colectomy rate. We intended to find a rescue therapy other than cyclosporin A, which imposes a high risk of side effects and cyclosporine-related mortality. Method : This was a randomized double-blind trial of infliximab or placebo in severe to moderately severe ulce

BACKGROUND. Spindle cell lipoma (SCL) is a relatively uncommon, benign tumor that usually presents in the subcutaneous fat of adult men. Although some studies have addressed the histologic findings of SCL, only a few descriptions of aspiration cytology findings have been published. The cytologic features are poorly defined, and aspirates from SCL may cause diagnostic problems, because SCL shares s

l-DOPA-induced motor complications can be modelled in rats with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions by chronic injections of l-DOPA. We have compared the sensitisation and duration of rotational responses, and the occurrence of dose–failure episodes and abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats with regard to the dose and route of administration of l-DOPA. Rats were treated with

Stress can be a significant factor influencing ear pathologies and is often reported to trigger the symptoms of Meniere's disease. Both physiological and psychological stress provokes the release of prolactin from the pituitary thus allowing the classification of prolactin as a major stress hormone. We investigated the level of the stress hormone prolactin in a Swedish population with early sympto

Surface modification of polyurethane (PUR) surfaces was carried out by using three different amphiphilic polymers. Two of the polymers were graft copolymers, having backbones consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-ethylhexyl acrylate) and poly(styrene-co-acrylamide), respectively, and poly(ethylene oxide) PEO 2000 grafts. The third polymer was a commercially available poly(ethylene oxide-b-prop